HISs (hospital information systems), originally for processing medical remuneration, have recently been developed and expanded to be utilized as service monitoring systems in many medical institutions. Online exam data, electronic medical charts, and the like have started to be developed for the sake of enhancing the systems to allow information of HIS to be used not only for service management but also for medical care for patients. Manufacturers of image generating apparatuses (modalities) have conformed to the DICOM (digital imaging and communications in medicine) standard, which is a standard format in the medical field, for exchanging information through connection with computers of other manufacturers in the same industry, thus acquiring patient identifying information and the like through connection with the image generating apparatuses (diagnostic imaging apparatuses).
More specifically, a HIS/RIS (radiology information system) installed in each hospital uses MWM (modality worklist management) in conformity with the DICOM standard, adds patient identifying information to DICOM tags, and acquires the entries.
There are medical image information systems that transmit original images (medical images before being subjected to image processing) collected by image generating apparatuses, such as an X-ray imaging apparatus, an ultrasonographic apparatus, an X-ray CT (computed tomography) apparatus, an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) apparatus and a PET (positron emission tomography) apparatus, and information related to these images, such as patient identifying information, via a DICOM network to image management apparatuses and MPPS (modality performed procedure step) servers, to thus collect information, and then extract the original images and related information as necessary and are operated for diagnosing patients using the images and information.
Recent advancement in medical science and imaging apparatuses from the conventional art diversifies image generating apparatuses used for exams. There are increasing cases of collecting multiple types of original images through multiple types of image generating apparatuses even for one disease. Furthermore, there are increasing cases of creating a fused image as a processing result image (medical image having been subjected to image processing) based on multiple types of original images such that the advantages of each of original images (properties: morphological images/functional images) are sufficiently taken from the multiple types of original images and of using the fused image for diagnosis and treatment.
Unfortunately, according to the conventional art, creation of a fused image based on multiple types of original images requires data collected through different image generating apparatuses. Accordingly, in many cases, acquisition of the original images from locations where these images are stored still requires time and effort.
Conventionally, in the case of creating a fused image using two or more types of original images collected through multiple image generating apparatuses, the two or more types of original images are collected into an image processing apparatus for creating a fused image. After the two or more types of original images become available in the image processing apparatus, an operator selects original images to be used for creating a fused image from among these two or more types, and causes an application to diagnostic read the images, thereby generating a fused image from the two or more types of original images. This case requires time for (transferring the two or more types of original images)+(selecting original images)+(fusion process). This case thus requires time and effort (waiting time) until starting to diagnostic read a fused image.
It is not uncommon for recent image generating apparatuses to create a group of several thousand original images at one time of exam (imaging). It unfortunately takes several tens of seconds to several minutes to transfer the group of original images to another apparatus. For instance, the transfer rate of original images is approximately 20 to 50 [images/second].
In a process of generating a 3D fused image based on a CT image and an MR image as original images, waiting time for image processing ranges from several minutes to several tens of minutes for generating an MR tractography image without consideration of imaging time; note that the variation in time depends also on the gap of a slice thickness or the like.
In a process of generating a 3D fused image based on a CT image and a PET image as original images, waiting time after selection of a group of original images ranges from several tens of seconds to several minutes or a little longer for executing an extraction process, a positioning process and a fusion process. Furthermore, achievement of highly accurate positioning sometimes requires a time period several times longer than the foregoing time period.